# Incident 20030202009269I: Snias AS350B3, El Paso, TX, February 2, 2003

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 2, 2003, 15:20 local time
- Place: El Paso, TX
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Starting Engines
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: NE6A
- Location: 31.7587° N, 106.4869° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of El Paso, TX, within about 9 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.7587&lon=-106.4869&mi=10
- Aircraft: N433AE (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: SNIAS AS350B3
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 4,500 total, 100 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030202009269I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) ON FEBRUARY 2, 2003, AT 1321 MST A EUROCOPTER AS-350-B3, N433AE, REGISTERED TO ENCHANTMENT AVIATION, INC. DBA SOUTHWEST AIR AMBULANCE, SUSTAINED A ROTOR STRIKE ON THE TAIL BOOM DURING START UP IN HIGH WINDS, AT THOMASON GENERAL HOSPITAL, EL PASO, TEXAS. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND A VFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE AND THE COMMERCIALLY CERTIFICATED PILOT AND TWO MEDICAL ATTENDANTS WERE NOT INJURED.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.